The night was rainy, and a violent wind was raging. Several lightning bolts split the night sky. Thunder roared, and raindrops as large as beans came pelting down, adding a sense of bleakness to the scene.
On the steps outside a rain-soaked pavilion knelt a young man in a dark blue robe. The wind-driven rain had drenched him thoroughly, his clothes clinging to his frame, outlining his slightly slender build. Had it not been for his pale face, which stood out starkly against the darkness, he might have blended completely into the somber atmosphere.
The rain blew into his eyes, stinging and uncomfortable. Unable to bear it, he lowered his head. The slightest change in his expression immediately drew a malicious question.
"What? You have a problem with this?"
The speaker had a pair of slightly upturned, fox-like eyes that naturally seemed to smile. Combined with the scornful smirk on his lips, the effect was strikingly captivating. He wore magnificent robes embroidered with gold thread, enveloped meticulously by a protective spiritual barrier—not a single drop of rain touched him. His immaculate appearance stood in stark contrast to the disarray of the kneeling figure.
Receiving no response, he let out a cold hum and stepped on the youth's shoulder. "Gu Xingyun, I'm asking you.Do you have a problem with this?"
Caught off guard, Gu Xingyun was stomped to the ground. Gritting his teeth against the humiliation, he replied with deference, "Master, I wouldn't dare."
The next moment, a bolt of lightning, so intense it seemed to split the world apart, illuminated the earth.
Yan Huailiu's movement froze. He remained in the posture of stepping on the youth, his initially mocking eyes now filled with confusion. His handsome face seemed petrified.
What was going on?
What was this?!
Wasn't he just resting his head on the desk after a sudden heart pain while coding?
Why was he here? Was this a dream?
[Ding— Host consciousness detected. System binding in progress.]
[System binding successful. Plot data transmitting. Please receive——]
Yan Huailiu stood frozen, forced to absorb a chaotic flood of images. His mind was in turmoil, feeling as though it were about to explode.
He—a socially anxious young man from the modern era—had transmigrated into a book.
Not just any book, but the very dog-blooded, brainless, wish-fulfillment novel he'd been reading lately while holed up at home. And he'd become the cannon-fodder master who shared his name.
Wow, my ordinary life just got interesting… how exciting—
…Exciting my foot!
The book he'd fallen into was titled "Turning the Tide in Yuxu Sect".
On the surface, it seemed like a typical underdog story:
The protagonist and his friends went from being bullied nobodies within the sect to encountering one fortuitous adventure after another, slapping faces and crushing villains all the way until they eventually rose to become the ultimate bosses.
It would've been truly inspirational—had they not suddenly swerved off the path of righteous cultivation midway and embarked on a world-destroying, doom-bringing rampage as the great villains.
And the original owner of Yan Huailiu's body?He was the very first sacrifice offered up when the protagonist's group went dark. A key catalyst in their descent into darkness.
A man who—relying on the profound cultivation inherited from the previous sect master of Yuxu—spent his days wallowing in debauchery, bullying his four disciples as his life's mission. An utterly selfish, monstrous tyrant.
He deliberately snatched resources from his disciples during cultivation; He intentionally lurked behind them during missions, letting them take all the risks; Whenever they showed the slightest progress, he would sabotage and undermine them…
Countless such petty, spiteful acts piled up over time.
Eventually, the disciples—whose foundations were already fragile—had their spiritual roots shattered and their cultivation destroyed.
Left with no choice, they secretly turned to the path of demonic cultivation, becoming tragic minor villains.
The cannon-fodder master felt no remorse. Not only did he absolve himself of all blame, but he also took up the banner of "eliminating evil" and led the renowned righteous sects of the cultivation world in hunting down his four former disciples.
His actions contributed greatly to the antagonists' blackening value. In the end, his disciples—now empowered with golden fingers—exacted their revenge.
They tore off his limbs and shattered his cultivation, leaving him broken in both body and spirit.
The villains even used precious spiritual elixirs to keep him alive, forcing his original self to crawl like livestock in a dungeon for eight long years before finally granting him a merciful end.
After death, his ravaged corpse was hung at the sect's entrance, exposed to wind and sun for decades—until the last piece of bone was carried away by wild dogs.
When Yan Huailiu first read this, he couldn't stop cursing how absurd it was—a stupid character created just to force the plot.
With such high cultivation, why not uphold justice? Why not earn everyone's respect?
Why torment four pitiful disciples and traumatize them?
What was the point? Was he out of his mind?!
But now, he couldn't utter a single curse.
He had become that very idiot of a character.
Thanks… truly, thanks for this.
After digesting the original plot, the system generously provided a timeline:
[Two days until the youngest disciple officially joins the sect. Three years until the villain group collectively blackens. Five years have already passed since the arch-villain began suffering abuse~]
[Congratulations, Host, on opening a new chapter in life! Ultimate Mission: Redeem the villains and survive~]
[Friendly reminder: Only by perfectly completing the mission will you have a chance to earn rewards and return to the real world~]
Oh? Oh my freaking head!
Yan Huailiu's mind was flooded with the imagined accusations of the villain group:
Five years… Do you have any idea how we lived through these five years?!
Ironic? Maybe. But he wasn't laughing.
He had maintained the same posture for too long. A sudden cramp seized his leg—and only then did Yan Huailiu remember there was still someone beneath his foot.
He had heard a faint whisper of "I wouldn't dare" when he first transmigrated, hadn't he?
So… the pitiful figure being crushed under his foot was none other than Gu Xingyun—the future leader of the villain faction, the one who would steer them all onto the demonic path… his first disciple?!
Yan Huailiu slowly lifted his foot, slapping his cramped muscle a few times in frustration.
He took two steps back, staring at the great future villain who was still lying motionless on the ground, not daring to move a muscle.
Terror gripped him so fiercely he wanted to faint on the spot.
He—a severely socially anxious person who would blush, tremble, and lose control of his facial expressions after just two sentences with another human—was now supposed to live under the same roof with four disciples destined to become villains and ultimately torture him to death…
And somehow survive them all.
What kind of hell mode is this?!
He'd been living alone for three years! He hadn't spoken a single unnecessary word to anyone! When absolutely necessary,he'd even pretended to be deaf and mute! Why did it have to be him—a socially terrified recluse—thrown into a situation like this?!
Yan Huailiu swallowed hard, glanced up at the sky, and seriously wondered what his chances were of getting struck by lightning. Who in their right mind would agree to a life-and-death game on hell difficulty?!
And his timing couldn't have been more "perfect"— He had transmigrated right in the middle of torturing the future great villain like a dog. He'd stomped him into the mud…all because this disciple had just managed to master sword flight today.
Heh. Five years since joining the sect, and he'd only just learned what most disciples achieve within their first few months. And even that was only because he'd secretly asked outer disciples from other sects for advice during his outings, practicing on his own in silence until it finally clicked.
And for such a pitiful, heart-wrenchingly trivial reason, he was tortured like this.
Even a stray dog passing by would shed a tear of sympathy.
What kind of wiring did the original owner's brain have?
Is this how a normal person should behave?
Yan Huailiu struggled internally, mentally poking the system that was playing dead:
"What happens if I don't try to redeem them? If I just stay far, far away from all of them… I can still survive… right?"